Key Takeaways
It seems quaint , these days , to express astonishment with awholesome phraselike " holy cow ! " It ’s so common that we ’ve in all likelihood all say it at some point , mayhap as kids . And if you ’re a sportsman fan of a certain age , you may even consociate it with baseball announcer Phil Rizzuto or Harry Caray .
Caray delivered a particularly memorable " hooooo - leeeee coooow ! " in his broadcasts — so much so that comic Will Farrell often burlesque Caray on " Saturday Night Live . " Some people even think that Rizzuto or Caray might have originated the phrase . They were both in the stall in the early days of " holy cow " — but not quite early enough .
Rizzutobegan announcing after his playing days were over . His first season as an announcer for the New York Yankees was in 1957.Caray ’s announcing calling began in the minor leagues in 1943 , and he moved up to the John Major in 1945 .
Big-league Swear Words
" Holy cow " is what ’s known as a " minced curse word . " It ’s when you substitute a kind of perhaps similar - ish - sounding word for ataboo Christian Bible . That ’s why we have " frickin " and " dang it " and " shizz . " In this case , " cow " is probably a stand - in for " Christ " so the speaker would n’t take the Lord ’s name in swollen .
Minced oaths have been around in the English language for 100 of years . The version on the " holy " topic have been in use since the middle of the 19th C , according to the Oxford English Dictionary . Itsdefinition of " holy"includes its function as an oath , such as " holy cow ! " or " holy mackerel ! " The first instance list for this variety of minced oath in photographic print comes in 1855 , with " holy Moses ! "
What about " holy cow " specifically ? It does indeed have tie to baseball game , back when Caray and Rizzuto were n’t even born . A pitcher for the Sacramento Wolves of 1913 was known as"Holy Cow " Peters , according to a 1913 report card in the Sacramento Union .
But not even Otto " Holy Cow " Peters could claim to have invented the phrase , since that same twelvemonth the Lincoln Star in Nebraska noted that player - manager Charlie Mullen say " holy moo-cow . " So as early as 1913 , people were say " holy cow , " at least in Sacramento , California and Lincoln , Nebraska .
Are Cows Really Holy?
The thing is , cowsarefamously hold as holy in Hinduism . They are not gods , and they are not worshipped , but cow are considered consecrated . These gentle beasts give more to humans than they take in the form of milk and its Cartesian product , like butter and Malva sylvestris , and manure , which we can utilise as fertilizer .
There were a fewEnglish - language books on India and Hinduismaround in the late 19th and early twentieth C , which coincides with the phrase popping up across America . It ’s unbelievable that baseball game musician were directly referencing Hindu spiritual beliefs in make their new minced expletive , but it is probable that holy cows were something Westerners knew about at the time . And if you ’re a baseball musician who just expunge out again , and you ’re forbidden from swearing by the league , " holy cow " start out to look like a pretty secure relief for what you ’d really like to say .
